Player-action.



G. P. BRAND.

PLAYER ACTION.

APPLICATION FILED DEC. 26. 1913. RENEWED MAR. 28. 1917.

1,232, 1 98. Patented July 3, 191?.

175 7 7 7 7 m m T WWWWW wgflfii GEORGE 1?. BRAND, OF NEW YORK,

PLAYER-ACTION.

Application filed December 26, 1913, Serial No. 808,863.

To all whom it may concern:

Be itknown that I, Gnonon P. BRAND, a citizen of the United States of America, and resident of New York, in the county and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Player- Actions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to certain new and useful improvements in pneumatic actions designed primarily for automatic musical instruments.

In manufacturing actions for the trade generally known as trade actions to be applied to different makes of pianos, it is desirable to be able to carry as many parts of such actions in stock as possible. The actions and pneumatics which are made up and kept in stock have to be assembled after the order for the same is received.

As is well known, the scales of different pianos vary and for this reason actions cannot generally be carried in stock. The object of the present invention is to be able to carry stock actions. For this purpose the pneumatics are adapted to be mounted, when applied to the actions, so that they may be adjustable horizontally upon pivots, so that while the openings in said pneumatics and in the action shall at all times register, the other ends of the pneumatics may be moved as may be required to bring such ends in proper alinement according to the scale of the piano to which the action is to be applied.

Another object of the invention is to so locate or dispose the openings in the action as to bring them as near as possible to the heels of the pneumatics, so that the latter may be moved laterally to accommodate them to the scale of the piano and with minimum movement of the hole at the heel of the pneumatic.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will hereinafter appear and the novel features thereof will be particularly pointed out in the appended claims.

The invention is clearly illustrated in the accompanying drawings, which, with the numerals of reference marked thereon, form a part of this specification, and in which- Figure 1 is a vertical transverse section through the action showing pneumatics applied, the latter being in elevation with a portion of one broken away and shown in Section.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 3, 1917. Renewed March 28, 1917. Serial No. 158,116.

Fig. 2 is a vertical section on the line 2-2 of Fig. 1, looking in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 3 is a section on the line 33 of Fig. 1, loo-king in the direction of the arrows.

Fig. 1 is a diagrammatic view in top plan illustrating the manner of disposing the pneumatics on their pivots to accommodate them to the scale of the piano to which the action is applied.

Like numerals of reference indicate like parts throughout the different views.

The action may be of any well known or approved. form of construction, except as hereinafter specifically designated, the present form being shown by way of illustration to better show the application of the present invention.

Referring to the drawings,

The tension chamb=r l, which extends lengthwise of the action, is formed in the bar 2. The diaphragm board 3 has individual diaphragm chambers l the dia phragms 5 being arranged in said chambers as shown in Fig. 1. The diaphragm board 3 is provided with a duct 6 in each diaphragm chamber 4 of the upper row and a duct 7 for the lower row, it being understood that the chambers 1 extend throughout the length of the bar 2, there being forty-four diaphragm chambers in each of the upper and lower rows or half as many in each row as there are notes in the piano. 8 is a bumper cooperating with the diaphragm 5 and carried by a stem 9 movable through a suitable guide 10 and carrying the valves 11 and 12 in the valve chamber 13 formed in the bar 2. 14 is a spring interposed between the bumper 8 and the guide 10, serving to keep the valve 11 closed. It will be understood that there are as many valve chambers 13 as there are diaphragm chamhere 4.

15 is a passage leading from the valve chamber 13 for cooperation and registration with the opening 16 in the pneumatic 17, it being understood that there is one pneumatic for each opening 15.

s seen in Fig. 1, the opening 16 in the pneumatic is shown as of greater area than the opening 15. This is to insure the proper registration of these two openings regardless of the position of the pneumatic.

In applying the pneumatic, it is desirable to have some means to insure that it will be so applied that the openings 15 and 16 shall coincide and for this purpose there may be provided a downwardly projecting pin or the like 18 mounted in the bar 2 adapted to register with a hole in the heel end of the pneumatic. This pin or projection serves also a further purpose as it constitutes a fulcrum on which the pneumatic may be moved in a horizontal plane, so that the other end thereof may be moved to the right or left, as may be required, to place the same in proper position according to the scale of the piano.

In a 3 31 in the neumatics the r are gen-' erally supplied with glue on the surface adjacent to the bar 2 and then placed in posi tion, so that the openings therein will register with the pins 18, so as to insure proper alinement of the holes 16 with the holes 15 and each pneumatic is then moved upon its fulcrum to bring the other end with its lug 18 in proper position in a plane corresponding with the cooperating member of the piano. This is readily done and the pneumatic is then pressed against the bar 2, when the glue dries and the pneumatic is firmly held in position. After the pneumatics have all been moved into proper position for vertical alinement of the parts, they may be thus secured by means of a bar 19, as shown in Fig. 4:, which serves to hold all of the pneumatics of one row in position and stifiens the same.

20 is the primary chest, on the valve board 21 of which the primary valves 22 are supported.

23 is a diaphragm board, to which the diaphragm cups 2 1 are affixed, as seen in Figs. 1 and 8. No claim is made herein, however, to the construction of the primary chest and its diaphragm cups and valves, as the same will form the subject matter of a separate application.

Modifications in details may be resorted to without departing from the spirit of the invention or sacrificing any of its advantages.

What is claimed as new is:

1. A player action and matics, said pneumatics being disposed in a horizontal plane and mounted upon lndependent vertlcal pms,

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each,

pneumatics with registering holes near the heels of the pneuand means connected other than the wind chest common to all of said pneumatics and holding them in such positlon.

3. A player action having its pneumatics disposed in a common plane and set at different angles with respect to each other to correspond to the scale of the piano to which the action is to be applied and fixedly held together at their outer ends.

at. A player action having its pneumatics arranged to a fixed scale and disposed at different angles with respect to each other and all fixedly connected together at their outer ends in addition to their support at their inner'ends.

5. A player action embodying a multiplicity of pneumatics disposed at different angles with respect to each other in a common plane to correspond to the scale of the piano to which the action is to be applied, and means other than the wind chest fixedly holding all of the pneumatics in such angled position.

6. A player action embodying a multiplicity of pneumatics disposed at difierent angles with relation to each other in a horizontal plane to correspond to the scale of the piano to which the action is to be applied, and means other than the wind chest fixedly securing all of the pneumatics in such angular positions, said means being common to all of the pneumatics and connecting them together at their outer ends.

7 A plurality of pneumatics disposed in a common plane at difierent angles with respect to each other to correspond to the scale of a piano to which they are to be applied, and means joining together and holding such pneumatics in such position.

Signed by me at Washington, D. G, this 20th day of December, 1913.

GEORGE P. BRAND.

by addressing the Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, G, 

